scholarly journals Patient out-of-pocket spending in cranial neurosurgery: single-institution analysis of 6569 consecutive cases and literature review

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. E6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seungwon Yoon ◽  
Michael A. Mooney ◽  
Michael A. Bohl ◽  
John P. Sheehy ◽  
Peter Nakaji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Cost Sharing ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Vascular Lesions ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Model Case ◽  
Patient Cost ◽  
Neurosurgical Patients ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Insured Patients

OBJECTIVEWith drastic changes to the health insurance market, patient cost sharing has significantly increased in recent years. However, the patient financial burden, or out-of-pocket (OOP) costs, for surgical procedures is poorly understood. The goal of this study was to analyze patient OOP spending in cranial neurosurgery and identify drivers of OOP spending growth.METHODSFor 6569 consecutive patients who underwent cranial neurosurgery from 2013 to 2016 at the authors’ institution, the authors created univariate and multivariate mixed-effects models to investigate the effect of patient demographic and clinical factors on patient OOP spending. The authors examined OOP payments stratified into 10 subsets of case categories and created a generalized linear model to study the growth of OOP spending over time.RESULTSIn the multivariate model, case categories (craniotomy for pain, tumor, and vascular lesions), commercial insurance, and out-of-network plans were significant predictors of higher OOP payments for patients (all p < 0.05). Patient spending varied substantially across procedure types, with patients undergoing craniotomy for pain ($1151 ± $209) having the highest mean OOP payments. On average, commercially insured patients spent nearly twice as much in OOP payments as the overall population. From 2013 to 2016, the mean patient OOP spending increased 17%, from $598 to $698 per patient encounter. Commercially insured patients experienced more significant growth in OOP spending, with a cumulative rate of growth of 42% ($991 in 2013 to $1403 in 2016).CONCLUSIONSEven after controlling for inflation, case-mix differences, and partial fiscal periods, OOP spending for cranial neurosurgery patients significantly increased from 2013 to 2016. The mean OOP spending for commercially insured neurosurgical patients exceeded $1400 in 2016, with an average annual growth rate of 13%. As patient cost sharing in health insurance plans becomes more prevalent, patients and providers must consider the potential financial burden for patients receiving specialized neurosurgical care.

scholarly journals Association between health insurance status and malignant glioma

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 531-540
Author(s):  
Igor Fischer ◽  
Hendrik-Jan Mijderwijk ◽  
Ulf D Kahlert ◽  
Marion Rapp ◽  
Michael Sabel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Brain Tumors ◽  
Malignant Neoplasms ◽  
German Population ◽  
Insurance Status ◽  
Health Insurance Status ◽  
Neurosurgical Patients ◽  
Insured Patients ◽  
Privately Insured

Abstract Background Prior studies have suggested an association between patient socioeconomic status and brain tumors. In the present study we attempt to indirectly validate the findings, using health insurance status as a proxy for socioeconomic status. Methods There are 2 types of health insurance in Germany: statutory and private. Owing to regulations, low- and middle-income residents are typically statutory insured, whereas high-income residents have the option of choosing a private insurance. We compared the frequencies of privately insured patients suffering from malignant neoplasms of the brain with the corresponding frequencies among other neurosurgical patients at our hospital and among the German population. To correct for age, sex, and distance from the hospital, we included these variables as predictors in logistic and binomial regression. Results A significant association (odds ratio [OR] = 1.59, CI = 1.45-1.74, P &lt; .001) between health insurance status and brain tumors was found. The association is independent of patients’ sex or age. Whereas privately insured patients generally tend to come from farther away, such a relationship was not observed for patients suffering from brain tumors. Comparing the out of house and in-house brain tumor patients showed no selection bias on our side. Conclusion Previous studies have found that people with a higher income, level of education, or socioeconomic status are more likely to suffer from malignant brain tumors. Our findings are in line with these studies. Although the reason behind the association remains unclear, the probability that our results are due to some random effect in the data is extremely low.

Financial Burden of Myeloproliferative Neoplasms on Patients: Results from the MPN Landmark Survey in the United States

Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 5561-5561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreekant V. Parasuraman ◽  
Ahmad B. Naim ◽  
Dilan C. Paranagama ◽  
Maureen Thyne ◽  
Sara Goldberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Work Hours ◽  
Annual Household Income ◽  
Employment Equity ◽  
Equity Ownership ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Background: Myelofibrosis (MF), polycythemia vera (PV), and essential thrombocythemia (ET) are chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Patients across all 3 MPNs experience marked disease burden in terms of symptoms and negative effects on quality of life (QoL), productivity, and activities of daily living (ADL). To improve the lives and health of patients with MPNs, it is also important to have a current understanding of these burdens from a financial standpoint. This analysis of MPN Landmark survey data examined the financial burden of patients who reported that their MPN affected their employment (ie, reduced work hours, discontinued employment, or went on medical disability) or experienced no such effects on their employment. Methods: Patients diagnosed with MF, PV, or ET were recruited to participate in a real-world retrospective study (MPN Landmark survey) in the US (fielded May - July 2014). Only respondents who were diagnosed before 2013 and were 16 to 65 years of age at the time of diagnosis were eligible for this analysis. Participants were asked if their MPN had an impact in terms of reduced work hours, discontinued employment, medical disability, or no impact; the first 3 categories were not mutually exclusive. Participants provided information on their annual household income in 2013 before taxes by selecting from the following categories: ≤$15,000, $15,001-$25,000, $25,001-$35,000, $35,001-$50,000, $50,001-$75,000, $75,001-$100,000, and >$100,000. The mid value of each range was used to calculate mean income levels within each subgroup evaluated. Results: A total of 813 patients completed the web-based Landmark survey and 369 eligible patients were included in this analysis (MF, 85; PV, 172; ET, 112). Median age among patients with ET was slightly lower than among patients with MF and PV at time of MPN diagnosis (ET, 48 years; MF, 56 years; PV, 53 years). The majority of respondents were women (MF, 62%; PV, 52%; ET, 75%). Almost all patients (99%) had health insurance, primarily group commercial insurance through an employer (MF, 46%; PV, 53%; ET, 57%) and Medicare (MF, 40%; PV, 34%; ET, 24%). Most patients had at least some college education (ie, some college, 4-year degree, or postgraduate degree): MF, 86%; PV, 90%; ET, 88%. The mean 2013 household income of patients with MF, PV, and ET were similar to each other ($79,800, $80,200, and $80,400, respectively) and slightly higher than the total 2013 US mean household income of $75,839. A notable proportion of patients in each MPN group reported that their disease led to reduced work hours, discontinued employment, and medical disability: MF, 38%, 35%, and 33%, respectively; PV, 33%, 28%, and 15%; ET, 28%, 21%, and 4%. Patient demographics, such as age and health insurance status, were similar among patients who reported MPN-associated effects on employment and patients who did not within each MPN. In each MPN group, the mean percentage household income loss in patients with reduced work hours, discontinued employment, and medical disability were: MF, 16%, 18%, and 28%, respectively; PV, 15%, 24%, and 17%; and ET, 0%, 24%, and 37%, compared with patients who did not experience any effects of their MPN on employment (Figure 1). Discontinued employment and medical disability tended to have a greater impact compared with reduced work hours across MPNs. Conclusion: Patients withMPNs may experience a considerable negative impact on their employment status, which in turn may be associated with reduced annual household income. Therefore, across all MPNs, forestalling or reversing discrete aspects of the diseases that negatively impact individual productivity is an important factor in the management of these chronic neoplasms. Disclosures Parasuraman: Incyte Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Naim:Incyte Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Paranagama:Incyte Corporation: Employment, Equity Ownership. Thyne:Incyte Corporation: Speakers Bureau. Mascarenhas:Incyte Corporation: Research Funding; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation: Research Funding; Promedior: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; CTI Biopharma: Research Funding; Kalobios: Research Funding. Mangan:Incyte Corporation: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Fazal:Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Ariad: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Miller:Incyte Corporation: Honoraria, Research Funding. Mesa:Promedior: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding; Incyte Corporation: Research Funding; NS Pharma: Research Funding; CTI Biopharma: Research Funding; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation: Consultancy; Genentech: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding.

scholarly journals Patient Cost-Sharing and Hospitalization Offsets in the Elderly

2010 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amitabh Chandra ◽  
Jonathan Gruber ◽  
Robin McKnight
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Cost Sharing ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Hospital Utilization ◽  
Public Employees ◽  
Drug Usage ◽  
Patient Cost ◽  
Physician Visits ◽  
Medicare Program ◽  
Rand Health Insurance Experiment

In the Medicare program, increases in cost sharing by a supplemental insurer can exert financial externalities. We study a policy change that raised patient cost sharing for the supplemental insurer for retired public employees in California. We find that physician visits and prescription drug usage have elasticities that are similar to those of the RAND Health Insurance Experiment (HIE). Unlike the HIE, however, we find substantial “offset” effects in terms of increased hospital utilization. The savings from increased cost sharing accrue mostly to the supplemental insurer, while the costs of increased hospitalization accrue mostly to Medicare. (JEL G22, I12, I18, J14)

scholarly journals Out-of-Pocket Spending for COVID-19 Hospitalizations in 2020

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kao-Ping Chua ◽  
Rena M Conti ◽  
Nora V Becker
Keyword(s):  
Cost Sharing ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Ancillary Services ◽  
Medicare Advantage ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Outcomes Measures ◽  
Ambulance Transport ◽  
Insured Patients ◽  
Sectional Analysis ◽  
Privately Insured

IMPORTANCE: Many insurers waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 hospitalizations during 2020. Nonetheless, patients may have been billed if their plans did not implement waivers or if waivers did not capture all hospitalization-related care, including clinician services. Assessing out-of-pocket spending for COVID-19 hospitalizations in 2020 could demonstrate the financial burden patients may face if insurers allow waivers to expire, as many chose to do during early 2021. OBJECTIVE: To estimate out-of-pocket spending for COVID-19 hospitalizations in 2020 DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis SETTING: IQVIA PharMetrics Plus for Academics Database, a national claims database PARTICIPANTS: COVID-19 hospitalizations for privately insured and Medicare Advantage patients during March-September 2020 MAIN OUTCOMES/MEASURES: Mean total out-of-pocket spending, defined as the sum of out-of-pocket spending for facility services billed by hospitals (e.g., accommodation charges) and for professional/ancillary services billed by clinicians and ancillary providers (e.g., clinician inpatient evaluation and management, ambulance transport) RESULTS: Analyses included 4,075 hospitalizations. Of the 1,377 hospitalizations for privately insured patients and the 2,698 hospitalizations for Medicare Advantage patients, 981 (71.2%) and 1,324 (49.1%) had out-of-pocket spending for facility services, professional/ancillary services, or both. Among these hospitalizations, mean (SD) total out-of-pocket spending was $788 (1,411) and $277 (363). In contrast, 63 (4.6%) and 36 (1.3%) hospitalizations had out-of-pocket spending for facility services. Among these hospitalizations, mean total out-of-pocket spending was $3,840 (3,186) and $1,536 (1,402). Total out-of-pocket spending exceeded $4,000 for 2.5% of privately insured hospitalizations, compared with 0.2% of Medicare Advantage hospitalizations. CONCLUSIONS: Few COVID-19 hospitalizations in this study had out-of-pocket spending for facility services, suggesting most were covered by insurers with cost-sharing waivers. However, many hospitalizations had out-of-pocket spending for professional/ancillary services. Overall, 7 in 10 privately insured hospitalizations and half of Medicare Advantage hospitalizations had any out-of-pocket spending. Findings suggest insurer cost-sharing waivers may not cover all hospitalization-related care. Moreover, high cost-sharing for some hospitalizations suggests out-of-pocket burden could be substantial if waivers expire, particularly for privately insured patients. Rather than rely on voluntary insurer actions to mitigate this burden, federal policymakers should consider mandating insurers to waive cost-sharing for all COVID-19 hospitalization-related care throughout the pandemic.

scholarly journals Increasing Out-of-Pocket Costs for Neurologic Care for Privately-Insured Patients

Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000011278
Author(s):  
Chloe E. Hill ◽  
Evan L. Reynolds ◽  
James F. Burke ◽  
Mousumi Banerjee ◽  
Kevin A. Kerber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Sharing ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Service Cost ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Insured Patients ◽  
High Deductible Health Plan ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Out Of Pocket Costs ◽  
Privately Insured

Objective:To measure the out-of-pocket costs of evaluation and management (E/M) services and common diagnostic testing for neurology patients.Methods:Utilizing a large, privately-insured healthcare claims database, we identified patients with a neurologic visit or diagnostic test from 2001-2016 and assessed inflation-adjusted out-of-pocket costs for E/M visits, neuroimaging, and neurophysiologic testing. For each diagnostic service each year, we estimated the proportion of patients with out-of-pocket costs, the mean out-of-pocket cost, and the proportion of the total service cost paid out-of-pocket. We modeled out-of-pocket cost as a function of patient and insurance factors.Results:We identified 3,724,342 patients. The most frequent neurologic services were E/M visits (78.5%), electromyogram/nerve conduction studies (EMG/NCS) (7.7%), MRIs (5.3%), and electroencephalograms (EEGs) (4.5%). Annually, 86.5-95.2% of patients paid out-of-pocket costs for E/M visits and 23.1-69.5% for diagnostic tests. For patients paying any out-of-pocket cost, the mean out-of-pocket cost increased over time, most substantially for EEG, MRI, and E/M. Out-of-pocket costs varied considerably; for an MRI in 2016, the 50th percentile paid $103.1 and the 95th percentile paid $875.4. The proportion of total service cost paid out-of-pocket increased. High deductible health plan (HDHP) enrollment was associated with higher out-of-pocket costs for MRI, EMG/NCS, and EEG.Conclusions:An increasing number of patients pay out-of-pocket for neurologic diagnostic services. These costs are rising and vary greatly across patients and tests. The cost sharing burden is particularly high for the growing population with HDHPs. In this setting, neurologic evaluation might result in financial hardship for patients.

Trends in patient copays for hospital and office-based chemotherapy 2005-2012 for Medicare and commercially insured patients.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (31_suppl) ◽  
pp. 260-260
Author(s):  
Kathleen A. Foley ◽  
Rebecca Bechhold
Keyword(s):  
Patient Adherence ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Chemotherapy Administration ◽  
Medicare Patients ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Commercial Health Insurance ◽  
Financial Burdens ◽  
Insured Patients ◽  
Over Time

260 Background: With the growing shift towards chemotherapy administration in outpatient hospital settings (OHS) versus office-based settings (OBS), we sought to characterize the percent of patients with a copay and the mean copayment by setting and insurance type over time. Methods: Using the MarketScan Research Databases, first administrations of bevacizumab and trastuzumab were identified from 1/1/2005 through 12/31/2012 for patients with commercial or employer-sponsored supplemental Medicare insurance. Bevacizumab claims were excluded if the claim had a diagnosis related to macular degeneration or other eye disease. All claims were identified in OHS, OBS, or other setting. Results: The percent of patients with a copayment varied by insurer and setting but within each group remained fairly consistent over time. The average percent with a copay was 14% OHS and 19% OBS for commercial and 17% OHS and 28% OBS for Medicare patients. Per administration copayment amounts varied over time, with peaks of $978 OHS and $631 OBS for commercial in 2012 and $721 OHS and $464 OBS in 2011 for Medicare with 2012 Medicare copayments declining somewhat for bevacizumab. For herceptin peak mean copayments were $886 and $439 in 2012 for OHS and OBS commercial patients, respectively, and $458 and $474 in 2010 with declines in 2011 and 2012 for Medicare, respectively. Commercial patients receiving care in OHS settings consistently faced copayments that were 50 to 100% higher those paid by patients receiving chemotherapy in OBS. Copayment differentials were smaller for Medicare patients. Conclusions: As more patients are receiving care in OHS, these data imply significant financial burdens on patients, especially for those with commercial health insurance. Additional research is necessary to understand the overall cost burden on patients and whether the shift to OHS-based care has negatively impacted patient adherence or quality of life due to financial burden. [Table: see text]

Effects of Intermittent Pneumatic Calf Compression On Postoperative Thrombin and Plasmin Activity

1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (02) ◽  
pp. 198-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Weitz ◽  
Jost Michelsen ◽  
Kenneth Gold ◽  
John Owen ◽  
Duncan Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Enzyme Activity ◽  
Fibrinopeptide A ◽  
Plasmin Activity ◽  
Neurosurgical Patients ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Calf Compression

SummaryA previous study of neurosurgical patients demonstrated an imbalance between thrombin and plasmin action following surgery. The present study was designed to determine the effect of intermittent pneumatic calf compression on postoperative enzyme activity. Fibrinopeptide A (FPA) and Bβ 1-42 levels, reflecting thrombin and plasmin action respectively, were measured daily in patients undergoing elective craniotomy. Two of 9 patients not receiving calf compression developed positive fibrinogen leg scans, while none of 5 patients receiving prophylaxis had positive scans. Calf compression was associated with a markedly altered pattern of changes in the fibrinopeptide values following surgery. Without compression, there was perturbation of the balance between thrombin and plasmin action on the day after surgery as reflected by an increase in the FPA/Bβ 1-42 ratio. In contrast, in those receiving prophylaxis there was no change in this ratio on the first postoperative day. Calf compression both blunted the mean postoperative increase in the FPA level (1.8 nM vs 4.7 nM; p <.05) and augmented the mean Bβ 1-42 value (3.0 nM vs 0.2 nM; p <.05) so that the mean increase in the FPA/ Bβ 1-42 ratio was only 0.1 with calf compression as compared to 2.2 without it (p <.05). Systemic modulation of both the coagulation and fibrinolytic pathways thus occurred in association with calf compression.

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